Defense Manpower Data Center
We read the privacy notices published across central government, councils, tax and benefits offices, health bodies and policing. These are the patterns that repeat. A public body is not a company and you are not its customer: it holds your record because a law lets it, which changes what you can ask for and what you can expect back.
Reported incidents
Personnel records of 2.76 million living people accessed over nine months
2026-09-24Affected DMDC file-sharing system
The Defense Manpower Data Center, the Pentagon's personnel records office, said a small number of unauthorised users reached files on one of its systems between October 2025 and 16 July 2026, when it found and patched a flaw in a file-sharing system. The files held Social Security numbers with names, dates of birth, contact details, sex, race and military job codes. The Pentagon put the count at 2.76 million living people and 294,000 deceased. Notification letters dated 18 September offer one year of credit monitoring. The department says it has seen no misuse.
People affected typically ask Defense Manpower Data Center to confirm whether their information was included, and which categories.
The verified route
DÆTRAX is a personal data accountability ledger: a dated record of which companies hold your personal data, what you asked them to do about it, and what they claimed in reply.